Where in the world is Ashley Churchill?

So as many of you know, I am quite the Hanson fanatic. During the summer, they started the early stretches of touring their latest studio album, The Walk. The first three dates being Providence, Boston and NYC. And as you may have read, I went to all three. I was a tad upset that they didn't make a Toronto date, but I was satisfied with the shows that I had just seen. Then to my surprise, at the last minute they added a Toronto date. This was the first time I was actually disappointed in Hanson. Instead of an electric concert with one 2 or 3 song acoustic set, the entire concert was acoustic. Many of the fans went of the defensive end and took a stance that we should be happy that we got a concert at all. I felt differently. They had to make it up to us and they knew it.

Fast forward to the fall.

I had just gone to shows in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Both were pretty good. Chicago is a lovely town. Like NYC but much more mellow. I had some drama with US Airways in regards to my backpack, Olive, but I'll explain more about that later. So I check Hanson.net one fine day and HANSON ARE PLAYING FOUR SHOWS IN ONTARIO (Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, London). While I do feel bad for the rest of Canada since they almost never play outside my home province of Ontario, I am truly elated that I get to see them four more times before they go back into hiding. I thought they'd make it up to us and that is exactly what they're doing. I buy tickets to all four shows and count the days.

Amidst recording the album, they went to South Africa and while there, they had students from the DD Dilwayo School in Soweto, South Africa sing as a choir on parts of the album. In the past, Hanson has participated in charitable causes only when the opportunity struck. They never really had a specific cause all their own. But in participation with a non-profit group in their hometown of Tulsa, USA, they donated 1$ of each itunes sale of their single, Great Divide, to mother-child AIDS prevention in South Africa. But it didn't end there. Along with that, they teamed up with shoe company TOM'S SHOES, which sold shoes at each of the dates. For every sale, they would donate another pair of shoes to a child in South Africa, in the end, 50,000 pairs. But that's not all. With the help of a photographer friend of theirs, they also raised funds for The DD Dilwayo School. And that ended up being $15,000. To spread the word about their causes, the Tom's Shoes one in particular, Hanson has conducted 'One Mile Walks' at the majority of their dates. They pansied out of Ottawa because it was 'too cold'. But more on that later.

So I went to the Toronto walk with my partner in Hanson related crime, Christella.

Christella (left) and I about to take the walk.

Despite the moderately intense weather, we had a good time. They talked about all of their causes and how much our efforts help people in South Africa.

After the walk, I grabbed some new socks at Winners and Christella and I headed back to her place to chill until the concert started. Back at her place, I suggest that we wait until atleast 8:30pm before we head back to the venue. But she really wanted to go so we went back a bit earlier. We were in the taxi en route to the venue and we noticed a HUGE line outside. If they hadn't opened the doors yet, then who knows when they will. So we went to a coffee shop, then a bar to wait it out.

Christella pointing out an add for the concert in a copy of NOW Magazine.

So we head into The Phoenix as the second opening act finishes up. The two of us head to the back of the hall where the bar is and we run into Leanne and her sister, Natalie. After a few gin and tonics, Hanson finally takes the stage. The concert was AWESOME. One of the their best. I went back home and got ready for Hamilton, the next day.

While packing a few things to take to Hamilton, I left my camera attached to my computer. So no Hamilton pics. But Hamilton is no Toronto, so you're not missing much. I ran into Leanne and Natalie and chatted with them throughout the show. I have a cousin who for some reason, has chosen to call Hamilton home. So I crashed at her place for the night.

24 hours later, I'm off to Canada's capital, Ottawa. When I was in New Zealand, I stayed at a hostel that was a former prison. Seeing as Ottawa has a hostel of the same nature, I stayed there. Hostels in general aren't for the faint of heart or those that strongly value privacy. But when you see one of character, you stay there.

As I've mentioned earlier, Hanson has been conducting 'One Mile Walks' near each venue. So I went to the venue in Ottawa and was disappointed when Hanson didn't show up. Apparently, it was 'too cold' for them. But in all honesty, the weather was actually pretty mild. Definitely favourable to Toronto. But the fans that did show up decided to conduct the walk anyway. It shocking how some people feel towards Hanson. When I started joking that they were 'a bunch of pansies', people really jumped on the defense (very similar to how they did after the first Toronto concert). As if they were Hanson's own voluntary minions and sheep. They should really start making use of their spines.

With the other walkers in Ottawa. I'm second from the left.

Even though is it was a tad longer than a mile, I suggested that we walk to Parliament Hill. It turned out that I was the only one in favour of this idea.

The Ottawa concert was pretty good. Every now and then I'm a little taken aback by the venue choices they have made. I went to one in New Jersey which looked to be some sort of high school gym (Championship banners and all). The venue in Pittsburgh was a converted church (complete with 70 year old ladies taking tickets). The Bronson Centre in Ottawa is a charitable building that was once again, a former highschool. Over the next few hours, I had a decision to make. If I wanted to get to London early enough for the walk, I would have to get on the bus or train before 2am and endure a 10 ride to London. So when I went back to the hostel, I looked online to see if I had any other options. I took a glance at the WestJet page and see if they have any reasonably priced flights that could reduce my transit time. I see a flight from Ottawa to Toronto first thing in the morning and pounce on it. I then looked at all the buses and trains from Toronto to London and grab a train to London. So I would arrive in London about one hour before the walk. I stash my backpack, Sapphire, in a locker at the VIA station and head to the venue. Upon arrival, I chitchat with another girl, Jessica, outside. As it turns out, she is good friends with Christella.

Jessica and Isaac during the walk

So we talk and bit and then Hanson comes out. They do an interview with someone from AChannel and we all head off on the walk. I got few really good picks.

After the walk, I went back to my hostel to get ready. I went back to the venue a bit earlier than I planned. When I was in line, I witnessed one of the most blatant forms of stupidity from the human race. Lack of clothing in below freezing temperatures.

Why anyone would put themselves through that is beyond me. Being that London is such a small town and so far away from any sort of civilization, I didn't think that too many people would show up. But the venue was packed. The funny part was noticing the regulars in this country music bar. Wondering why there is a massive crowd of 20 something aged women taking over their bar. The show was REALLY good. Usually shows in small towns are somewhat lackluster. Good, but not great. This one was grand.

I left a few minutes before the concert was over. I didn't want to be caught in that weather without a cab. So I went back to the hostel, crawled in bed and went back to T-dot (slang term for 'Toronto') the next day. Before getting on the bus home, I grabbed a little pic for one of my friends from the real London.

I arrive home to a discruntled mother who is absolutely furious that I went a whole 72 hours without calling her. I can skip across several time zones without a hitch but can't go a few hours outside Toronto without setting off some alarms. **Sighs**, mothers.

Ok, onto the whole Olive saga.

Olive is the name of my dearly departed backpack. I first picked her up right before taking my first abroad trip to Jordan, Egypt and Western Europe.

Together, we have trekked across many countries and crossed many international borders. I've taken her with me everywhere. Whether it be a ginormous trek to The Middle East or a leisurely weekend to the cottage. There was no hesitation about taking her to the US to see Hanson. To get to Pittsburgh by ground, you're looking at atleast 10 hours. So I flew. For no particular reason, I chose US Airways. I didn't realize that I would regret the decision later. I arrive in Pittsburgh safe and sound. Olive, however, does not. I speak with the US Airways people and they start tracking her. If possible, they'll try to have her delivered to my hostel in Chicago. Since I'll be heading there pretty soon anyway. I arrive in Chicago after the Pittsburgh show and no Olive. I go home after that and still no bag. About a week after arriving home after the Chicago show, I start writing a claim for Olive. Just then I get a call from US Airways saying that they have found her and she is on her way back to me. She got caught in some sort of mechanical thing on the conveyer belt and she is destroyed.

So I start speaking with US Airways about having whats left of her shipped to my home in Toronto. This when I fully loose respect for this particular airline. I wasn't really surprised at what happened. Almost everyone has their bags atleast lost at one point. And I fly much more often than the average person, so I'm actually a tad surprised that it took this long for something like this to happen. What really disappointed me was how they handled this. Communicating with them was like trying to get through to a pack of monkeys. I mean, I literally have an easier time getting through to my dog, Corey.

I get a call from the delivery service and it will be on my door step soon. A different delivery man than the one I spoke to arrives a my door. He has a bag, but its not my bag. I assumed they mixed it up and that is the bag of someone else and didn't touch it. I called the delivery service again and say that it's not my bag. They try again. Another delivery man comes by and it is the same wrong bag as before. I call the delivery service AGAIN and say so. But apparently, my bag was INSIDE this other bag the whole time. GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
So he comes by again and I take Olive out. Now its time to start the reimbursement process. I gather everything I need for the claim and mail it in. I call them and they claim they never received it. I have it faxed in... again, they claim they didn't get it. I'm about to fax it again and I get a phone call from them that they have found it and will cut me a cheque for the price of the backpack and a few other things that were 'lost'... six weeks after my initial flight. I'm never flying with US Airways again. Anyway, with my cheque, I find a successor for Olive. Everyone, meet Sapphire.

To update everyone on my future expeditions, I will be taking off for Tanzania at the end of January. I will be teaching english for two months in the Arusha region. After that, I'm heading up to Scandinavia, Russia and a few other places for a little bit.

Until next time,

AC